Falling
by AStormIsBrewing
Summary: Love is never ending? That means we are going to be falling for a very long time. Lovely.
1. Falling

My Birthday present from one of my friends was a prompt, a bi-weekly Never-Ending Story. She gave me a word and a fandom, and I returned the favor.

Witness the product of my labors.An actual Zutara.

_Le GASP!_

But I was hoping there would be a genre called 'confusion,' because that's about where this is.

**Summary**: Love is never ending? That means we are going to be falling for a very long time.

**Falling**

It wasn't a question of wanting to. Definitely not — if she had her choice, the feeling would have been squished the moment it became recognizable. If she had her choice, it would never have come in the first place.

It was Katara's experience that, in most matters of the heart, wanting to wasn't even an option. It happened. You could follow where it lead, or you could live in denial of it, but a part of it was always there, old and new, young and old, right and wrong.

This was wrong, because even if she could somewhat maybe trust Zuko with Aang, with Sokka, with Toph, with everyone she ever cared about, and maybe even trust him with her back, her head knew she couldn't trust him with her heart.

But her heart never got the memo. It was hurt, yes, but so was he.

_I don't spy, I watch_, but in the course of doing one or another, in the course of dissecting Zuko's every action, it was simply hard to miss. The biggest one was literally a smack across the face.

She didn't mean to, she didn't want to, she had only meant to protect Aang, but she was watching Zuko.

As she watched, she began to think. Maybe he was sincere, maybe he had changed, maybe he had been just as confused and hurt as he sounded all those weeks ago in Ba Sing Se.

Maybe hating him just used up too much energy. Maybe that was where all these deviant thoughts came from, because love and delirium did seem to spring from the same source and for Katara worked just as well.

Love was a thing uncontrollable, and the state of coming into it was right to be called 'falling.' Katara had fallen for Jet before, and how had that worked out? She would be forever thankful for what he did for Aang, but she remembered what he did before.

How much of his change had been because of the Dai Lee brainwashing? He had given his life for Aang, but would he have given his life for his cause before?

She didn't have any of the answers.

Enter Zuko; _I've changed, I've changed, I've changed._ But had he? Nowadays he seemed in a perpetual state of confusion at having to actually interact with other people (imagine that!), and as Katara watched, she could see that the hurt was still there.

So.

Shoes don't stretch.

Men don't change.

Two undeniable truths of the universe.

There was logic and there was company policy, there was good judgement and there were matters of the heart.

And there was the 'L' word, that usually had that 'F' word in front of it.

_**Falling.**_

Disorientation, then impact. That was about where Katara was right now.

She wasn't sure she liked it.

* * *

You can play the tape of the evil maniacal laughter now.

Of course, in typical _**AStormIsBrewing**_ fashion, nothing really happens, but you have gotta love the deep, frustrating, internal monologues!! It's what I do, and what makes me such a bad action writer.

I like to make my characters stop and think.

Because thinking's cool.

But others of you are going to say, _But that's not really Zutara_, and to you I say, _Tough luck. _

From what little I know of love, it's grossly overrated.

Yeah, it's nice, but . . . well, what most of the world has today, is that really love?

Ok, next prompt for you is for Harry Potter, Snape's POV after Lily marries James: "It's just me and old plan B," from Keith Anderson's 'Plan B.'

_**Don't forget to review!**_


	2. Ostentatious

Ok, you know what? Fine. I'm continuing it.

It's going to be along the lines of a 100 theme challenge, only every chapter will build off of the last. Somehow. And I made up this list, so they don't have to go in any order. Ha.

Oh, noes. And you're not getting nearly as many updates as According to Martial. I want to finish that first.

And just a warning, they aren't going to do much, because they never do.

100 Chapters of Falling.

I'm beginning to like the sound of this.

* * *

**Ostentatious**

* * *

The first thought that flashed through Katara's head was 'I don't know why I'm doing this.' The second completely contradicted the first, reminding her that world peace and not having to do the laundry until she told Sokka to stop was worth a few minutes with Zuko.

No one ever said what needed to be accomplished between them — no one really knew — so the waterbender didn't feel exactly obligated to do anything more than berate him on the first word that came out of his mouth.

Because that thing with the 'L' word, that _never happened._

Honestly, what was she thinking? So—

Never happened.

Right.

He didn't move to greet her; he never said anything as she sat down beside him(too his left! Why was she stupid enough to sit in full view of his scar?!), and she returned the favor.

_Come on_, _Katara_, Sokka had said. _Two civilized words is all we're asking._

"Nice weather we're having." _In your face, Sokka. Four words, five if you break up the conjunction._

And his raspy voice only returned, "Yeah."

"What, no awkward attempt at a conversation?"

"I failed again."

Ouch. There's the awkward. Now to add the sarcasm. "Oh, gee, what a bummer. What was it this time, couldn't catch all the badger-frogs on fire?"

"No, I couldn't make lightning." He wasn't yelling, but his voice had an edge of frustration in it as he turned his glare to her. "And I don't know how I'm ever going to teach it if I can't do it."

Lightning. That was about where Katara's brain stopped. Concern for Aang overrode hate for Zuko, and her voice dropped back down to happily civilized. "Are you sure Aang is ready for that kind of firebending? I mean, he's only been doing this for a few weeks."

"He has to learn it sometime," Zuko said, turning back to the opposite wall of the canyon. "Ozai won't fall to a half-baked firebender."

Wow. Was she going to have to actually . . . give Zuko a pep-talk? "Listen, I know we don't get along, but the Zuko I know never gives up. I don't know if he doesn't know how, or if he's just too stupid to quit, but it doesn't matter what the odds are, he just gets up and tries again."

"If I never gave up we wouldn't even be here."

"How'd you figure that one out? Oh, wait, I think I just said that."

The prince shook his head. "I meant here, this, the invasion failing, Aang almost dying in Ba Sing Se—"

"Actually. . . ." There was her conscience again, yelling 'don't do it!' "I think he did die. I used the water from the spirit oasis on him, and I think . . . I think it brought him back. It was the real thing." Katara was not going to fall for the miserable, head-in-hands, woe-is-me act ever again, but Zuko was making her conscious scream at her to reconsider. But what could she possibly say to get the figment of her imagination off her back? "I don't see how what you did in Ba Sing Se was you giving up. If anything, you were still doing everything you could to regain your honor, or whatever."

"I didn't know what I was doing." His voice was back to that defeated, broken rasp. "I didn't even stop to help my uncle. I just ran, and I thought I was going to join you, but I saw Azula and I. . . ." He swallowed, his lips pressing into a thin line. "I never think anything through," he ended lamely. "And that probably isn't going to get you to trust me any quicker."

"Do you know what you're doing now?"

Zuko looked at her with that lopsided face, confusion etched across his features. Hardly a reassuring expression. "I think so."

"Then try it again," Katara said, standing up. "And no supper until you do."

* * *

Same goes for you, reviewers!


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